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COPYRIGHT-THURSDAY, JULY 26, 2012 • VOLUME 125 NUMBER 13 • JASPER, GEORGIA • 500
First-hand
Swim team
Jasper
account of
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restaurant
trucker life
season with
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best results
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Page 8A
Page 1C
Page 2B
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Avoid aggravation at the polls Tuesday * ash ° f , su j cide calls
&& ~ J tragic but not unusual
By Jeff Warren
Staff writer
jwarren@pickensprogress.com
With this summer's election cycle building now
to a conclusion at the polls, keeping a few things
in mind could avoid some hassles this primary elec
tion day, Tuesday, July 31.
First, there is no voting on election day at the
Pickens County Voter Registration Office on Pio
neer Road in Jasper. All early voting happens at that
office, but on election day, no polling does.
"If they wait until election day, they have to go
to their precinct [polling place], which is on their
precinct card," explained Pickens County Supervi
sor of Elections Julianne Roberts.
That precinct card is the voter registration card
you receive through the mail. If you cannot find
yours and need to confirm the location of your
polling place, you can gain that information from
the county voter registration office. Just phone
[706-253-8781] or go by [83 Pioneer Road, Jasper-
-near Chattahoochee Tech],
Pickens County has 12 polling places for elec
tion day. The one assigned to you is usually rela
tively close to your home address but may not be
real close. It might be difficult to guess which is
yours, so, if you don't know, contact the voter reg
istration office before election day to find out.
Here is a list of Pickens County polling places:
Yellow Creek Fire Station; Hill City Elementary
School; Hinton Community Center; Jerusalem
Community Center; Ludville Community Center;
Nelson City Hall; Talking Rock Town Hall; Jasper
City Hall; Tate Elementary School; New Lebanon
Presbyterian Church; Jasper Middle School; Pick
ens County Middle School.
A very important thing to remember is that you
must present an acceptable form of photo identifi
cation at the polling place before you will be al
lowed to vote. Your photo ID card could be one of
several kinds. A current or expired Georgia driver's
license works. A current photo ID card issued by
the Georgia Department of Motor Vehicles does
also.
A current photo ID card issued by some entity
of state government is acceptable. An up to date
employee photo ID card issued by county govern
ment for a county employee would be an example
of this type, Roberts said.
A current United States passport is acceptable,
as is a current United States military ID card.
And a current tribal ID card (for a Native Amer
ican member of one of the Indian nations) can serve
as acceptable photo ID. Those type ID cards do not
turn up here very often, Roberts said, but there are
some around. "There's not many in the county, but
we have seen a few," she said.
She emphasized the only kind of photo ID card
still usable at the polls after it has expired is a Geor
gia driver's license. All other kinds of acceptable
photo ID must be current to remain valid for voting
purposes.
Roberts pointed out you will not see on your
ballot every candidate running at this election
cycle, because this is a primary election. You can
choose a Democratic ballot and pick among Dem
ocratic candidates. You can choose a Republican
ballot and pick among Republican candidates. Or
you can vote a ballot with only non-partisan races.
As of noon Tuesday, July 24, some 1,582 Pickens Countians had
cast their primary ballots early at the county’s voter registration office.
Of those, 99 voted last Saturday, reported Supervisor of Elections Ju
lianne Roberts. There are 18,681 registered voters in the county.
But choose a Democratic or Republican ballot, and
the non-partisan races are included on it.
Locally more candidates appear on the Repub
lican primary ballot, because more qualified as Re
publican candidates.
In Georgia, at primary elections like this one,
you can choose to vote a Democratic or Republican
ballot regardless of what your previous party lean
ings (if any) have been.
"You can choose either one, because you're not
registered [as a voter] by party in Georgia," Roberts
explained.
Don't be suiprised this time if Tom Graves is no
longer one of the congressional candidates listed
on your Republican ballot, if you choose that one.
With redistricting after the 2010 Census, Pickens
County is now divided between two congressional
districts. West countians will still see Graves as a
candidate on Republican ballots. East county Re
publican voters have several other choices but not
Graves.
Because these congressional districts and some
state legislative districts and new county commis
sion districts now differ from one side of the county
to the other, sample ballots recently printed in the
Progress may not match exactly the ballot you will
see when you get to your polling place.
But you can go on line to see a ballot specific to
your polling location. To see your ballot, navigate
on the Internet to See Election on Page 20A
See sample ballots on page 10C
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Backpacks for Angels program gives
school supplies to needy children
Volunteers with First Chris
tian Church of Jasper give out
free backpacks and supplies
through their Backpacks for
Angels event held last Satur
day, July 21. Organizers say
they had enough supplies on
hand to sen’e 160 students,
and that all supplies not used
would be distributed through
local schools andpre-kpro
grams such as Head Start.
Bethany-Salem Fire Department holds open house this Saturday
The volunteers at Bethany
Salem Fire Department (Station
8) would like to invite you to join
us at our Open House and Station
Dedication on Saturday July 28.
BSFD has been serving the com
munity since 1990 and has just
completed the new station at 200
Henderson Mtn. Rd. We would
like to share this time with you
and give you the opportunity to
see the new station and meet with
our volunteers.
The ceremony will start at 10
a.m. with a time for us to get ac
quainted and for you to tour our
new station. At 10:30 the dedica
tion will start. The open house
will last until 2 p.m.
Visit with our special guests;
meet staff from Med2 (ambu
lance); AirLife Flight Service (he
licopter - as availability permits);
check out the fire trucks; free
food and drinks; smoke house
(teaches children about fire
safety); bounce house (let the
kids bum some energy).
The location is 200 Henderson
Mountain Road just off of Hwy.
108.
For more information about
BSFD go to www.bethanysalem
fd.org
Grandview Lake: A man’s dream come true
Sixty-four years old this year,
Grandview Lake was the dream of
local quarryman W.H. “Bill” Jones
before the lake ever filled with some
help from his friends. Jones’ daugh
ter, Peggy Petty, recounts the lake’s
early days, including her father’s
boathouse business near the dam
and even earlier times at the old
Grand View Hotel, since demol
ished.
Petty’s parents restored the
Grand View Hotel (bought for
$1,000) and lived there with their
four children before selling the place
to the Salvation Army in 1946.
See complete story on Page 12A
Damon Howell / Photo
Experts offer comment on rash
of summer suicide attempts
By Dan Pool, Editor
dpool@pickensprogress.com
On June 29th, Pickens County emergency crews
responded to a Marble Hill residence where a 23-
year-old had told his fiancee he wanted to die and
leave everything to his daughter. He made these
threats either while or after consuming a 12-pack
of beer and taking an unknown, but possibly large,
quantity of anti-anxiety pills.
According to Sheriff’s Office reports, the 23-
year-old told deputies upon their arrival, “I don’t
want to die. I have a little girl.” The officers found
an empty bottle of anti-anxiety pills, and the man
was taken to Piedmont Mountainside Hospital for
further evaluation.
This incident led a string where Pickens emer
gency crews responded to nine suicide calls in less
than two weeks, ending with the grisly murder-sui
cide in Big Canoe, where a 63-year-old husband
shot his 65-year-old wife and then himself inside
their home. The man was reportedly distraught over
their recent divorce.
The calls included one other suicide, where a
52-year-old Jasper man had taken “roxies” [Roxi-
codone], Xanax and had been drinking,” according
to a friend who had spoken to the man earlier in the
day on the phone. The man died later after being
found on the floor unconscious and not breathing.
The Sheriff’s Office incident report did not note
any threats of suicide.
The other six suicide threat/attempt calls han
dled during this time included a 31-year-old Jasper
woman who had been drinking all day and was
irate. The case report indicated methamphetamine
was involved in that call. The incident report stated
the woman began “flailing her arms and legs in the
air” at the scene, afraid that someone would hurt
her while EMS was checking on her.
She later had to be put into restraints at the hos
pital. The woman made threats to hint herself. The
report noted she had possibly taken medication pre
scribed for someone else.
With the exception of the Big Canoe murder-
suicide, only one suicide attempt involved anything
other than pills or pills and alcohol.
On July 5, in what could have been a response
to a prank call, deputies responded at a home in the
Highway 108 area, where someone had reported a
female was See Suicide on Page 20A
$15 Million
marijuana
grow found
in Gilmer
Taken from a Drug Task Force press release
Thursday, July 19, agents with the Zell Miller
Mountain Parkway Drug Task Force, along with
Gilmer County deputies and other state agencies,
discovered nearly four acres of marijuana during
their annual marijuana flyover of a wooded area of
Gilmer County not far from the Highway
136/Highway 52 area.
This grow, one of three located in the county
that day, was spotted on Highway 52 East near
Southern Road. The grow was spread over a three
to four acre area. A tent and kitchen with fresh veg
etables and other food were located on the site, as
well as a bathroom, generator, bottled gas, exten
sion cords and an irrigation system.
It was believed the grow was abandoned when
the helicopter made its first flyover. In all, 12,887
marijuana plants were removed from the site. Law
officers estimate the street value of the marijuana
at over $15 million.
Several hours after the site was discovered,
Georgia DNR See Marijuana on Page 6A
Obituaries - Page 21A
Charles Paris Opal Kinsman
Eunice Steadman Ruby Wilkie
Mildred Green Victoria Perrow
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